Johannes Gutenberg

Printer

Born: c. 1400

Died: 1468

Birthplace: Mainz, Germany (?)

Best known as: Inventor of modern printing

Name at birth: Johann Gensfleisch

Johannes Gutenberg is generally credited with the creation of movable type printing -- the process that made it possible to publish many copies of a single work at one time. Much of Gutenberg's life is shrouded in mystery, and his name does not appear in any of the printed works attributed to him. He was a goldsmith early in life, and that training apparently led him to the notion of forming molten metal into individual characters of the alphabet, which could then be inked and pressed on paper. His most famous work was the Gutenberg Bible, an elaborate two-volume Latin edition of the holy book which he published about 1455.